SMA, the Swedish Maritime Administration is a public enterprise within the transport sector, governed by the Ministry of Industry, Employment and Communications. The safety of navigation on Swedish waters is our main concern. We are responsible for the supervision of Swedish merchant vessels, fishing vessels and leisure boats, making sure that existing security regulations are being applied. We ensure that accessibility, safety and environmental consequences at sea satisfy the demands from government, business, merchant shipping, fishing industry and leisure-boat interests. Our activities are mainly financed by dues, levied on merchant shipping for fairway use and pilot assistance. The Swedish Maritime Administration works for safe navigation on Swedish waters.

Short Facts about the Swedish Maritime Administration:
Founded: 1956
Employees: approx. 1,300
Maritime Traffic Areas: 7
Maritime Safety Inspectorate Areas: 3
Pilot stations: 24

Main professional categories: Pilots, boatmen, ship’s inspectors,VTS-operators, civil engineers. The Swedish Maritime Administration is a self-financing public enterprise, i.e. our activities are, with some exceptions, financed through fees and charges on shipping, outside the government budget. At our pilot stations you find pilot boats, taking pilots to and from ships.

Sea-transport is a safe form of transport. The Swedish Maritime Administration is responsible for keeping Swedish sea-lanes open and safe, and is aiming at improved safety on Swedish waters and on Swedish vessels generally. We are also working for a positive development of the shipping sector as a whole, towards efficient, safe and environment-friendly sea transports.

The Swedish Maritime Administration operates 36 tide gauges and 5 current meters around the Swedish coast. SMA also observes several parameters onboard 5 ice-breakers and runs a few measurement systems in cooperation with the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI). All data are accessible in real-time.

Wind and Water Information (ViVa)

Swedish Oceanographic stations

Swedish Sea Level Network

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Open Access Centre for Marine Research (http://apc.ku.lt/en) is the subdivision of Klaipėda University, aimed to ensure proper operation of the scientific infrastructure of Marine Valley and open access to the R&D services for internal and external users, to facilitate science and business cooperation through high level scientific and technological research.

Main activities of the Centre are R&D in marine environment and maritime technologies.

R&D infrastructure consists of  laboratories:

• Marine Chemistry,
• Marine Ecosystems,
• Marine Constructions Reliability,
• Waterborne Transport Technologies,
• Fleet and Field Research.

Open Access services for science and business:

• Multipurpose research vessel for modern oceanographic research and marine engineering services;
• Analysis of biogeochemical processes and biological components of marine ecosystems;
• Modern marine biotechnology, alternatiev fuel and renewable energy solutions;
• Efficiency of waterborne transport including solutions for efficient energy and polution prevention;
• Marine constructions reliability, monitoring and non-destructive control.

Laboratory carries out complex investigations of marine and coastal environment. It also coordinates the services provided by the fleet and investigations required by scientific and commercial institutions.

Research vessel „Mintis“ – modern laboratory of marine research capable to service multipurpose marine research.

Sailing vessels „Brabander“ and „Odisėja“ operates as a platforms for sailing training, provides services for recreational and educational boating and also takes part in scientific investigations.

Current services are provided by the Laboratory:

• Geological investigations of the sea floor.

Set of investigations includes remote scanning of the sea-bottom, sampling and shallow coring activities allowing obtaining information on type and distribution of superficial sediments, identification of basic geological conditions on the site. Along with results obtained during lab tests of the collected samples and the cores, the service provider is able to characterize the geological setting, composition and basic mechanic properties of the sediments.

• Geophysical investigations onshore, internal waterbodies and open sea.

Complex of geophysical instruments allows investigation of the geological structure of the seabed, shallow seismics is suitable for engineering purposes, deep seismics serves for oil and gas exploration industry. Geophysical profiling is being used in order to identify buried objects – archaeological, military munition, obstacles for underwater infrastructure development projects.

• Investigations of sea bottom morphology.

High resolution full coverage of bathymetric measurements in shallow (up to 40 m) and deep – up to 600 meters waters. Inspection of navigation routes, investigation of changes of port aquatory, dredging operations control, nearshore sediment balance and dynamics, any engineering application offshore, river and lake bathymetry.

• Investigation of marine biodiversity.

This is the complex service of biological, geological and remote investigations. The sampling and analysis of sea floor communities along with visual inspection of the bottom to be provided. The type and distribution of marine habitats is being revealed, qualitative and quantities characteristics of the biodiversity provided.

• Hydrological investigations

The complex of hydrologic investigations would answer the questions on main physical parameters of the water column, such as: content of suspended matter, current velocity, turbidity, salinity, pressure, conductivity, temperature, oxygen content and other. The water samples analysed in the labs also provides with hydro chemical parameters of the water as well as content of biomass

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The Laboratory for Mathematical Modelling of Environmental and Technological Processes (VTPMML) is a part of University of Latvia, Faculty of Physics and Mathematics. The most important research fields in VTPMML is modelling of coastal processes, dynamics in Gulf of Riga and Baltic proper, sediment transport, wave, vessel and atmospheric interactions, biogeochemical interactions, river network studies, estuaries, lakes and drainage basins, etc. These studies are traditionally made by mathematical modelling.

Either finite element or finite difference approaches are used for circulation dynamics at Latvian territorial waters of the Baltic Sea. Operational setup for research purposes is built using HBM/cmod software. Tracer studies are being used to estimate the exchange between Baltic proper and regional brackish waters. Similar operational setup is launched for the largest lakes in Latvia, particularly for the ice dynamics during the winter. As the wave modelling is important for various coastal processes, ports and long-shore sediment transport different approaches are used for this purpose. It involves also wave climatological studies. For smaller isolated areas like ports, special approaches are applied which involve interactions with different boundaries and obstacles. Wave-vessel interaction is studied by Bousinesq approach.

The laboratory has been participating in several significant projects regarding atmosphere and oceanographic processes. VTPMML is a partner in MyOcean/MyO2 projects of the Seventh framework programme. The laboratory has developed an information system FiMar for the delivering, visualization, and analysis of data on marine meteorological and operational oceanography for the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, where data is based on meteorological observation system (by Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorological Centre (LEGMA)), operational oceanographic (MyOcean2/Danish Meteorological Institute/in-house OO model) and meteorological (DMI, GFS) products. FiMar is used as a decision support tool for navigation, marine search and rescue, fighting oil spills and mine sweeping purposes by Latvian Navy since 2004.

Screenshot of FiMar visual interface

The other important research field of VTPMML is climatological studies, which involves studies of historical measurement data by LEGMA and data of climate scenarios. In VTPMML the main tasks of climate change researches are: (1) development of the bias correction methods of the currently available individual future climate projections, (2) analysis of the ensemble of the bias corrected future climate projections, (3) impact studies of the future climate change on derived climate indicators and climate related processes in Latvia.

Example of modelling results of average direction of wave energy transport in the Baltic Sea

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Educational activities
Our study programme offers courses for both undergraduate and postgraduate students. They can choose among the following pathways: Marine Physics, Marine Biology, Protection and Management of Marine Resources, Marine Ecobiotechnology, Marine Geology, Marine and Atmospheric Chemistry. The students get also practical training at sea on the institute’s boat and on research vessels of co-operating institutions.

Research
The Institute conducts interdisciplinary research in all aspects of marine science with special attention to coastal zone of the shelf seas. It focuses primarily on the southern Baltic Sea and particularly the Gulf of Gdańsk but other regions including polar zones are also investigated. The principle areas of research include the following:

• sea dynamics, operational forecasting of hydrodynamics of the Baltic Sea including waves (WAM, SWAN), currents and sea level and other parameters like water temperature, salinity, etc. (M3D),
• developing numerical modelling of ecohydrodynamics of the Baltic Sea on regional and local sea scales,
• developing methods for the analysis of satellite and aerial images of the sea and coastal areas,
• investigation of acoustic waves scattering by fish, zooplankton and benthic organisms,
• research on interaction of sound waves with the sea floor; development of sediment recognition techniques based on hydroacoustic methods,
• interdisciplinary approach for coastal waters with a special focus on designated NATURA 2000 areas,
• pollution evaluation of marine environment and coastal ecosystems,
• support of marine ecosystem management.

The Department of Physical Oceanography of the IOUG contains four research sections: Laboratory of Sea Dynamics, Laboratory of Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis, Laboratory of Marine Acoustics and Laboratory of GIS and Geostatistics. The physical oceanography group is engaged in study of sea hydrodynamics and physical properties of seawater and processes taking place in the coastal waters of the southern Baltic, particularly in the Gulf of Gdańsk.

Satellite remote sensing methods are used to estimate physical and biological properties of seawater, the sea surface temperature, the surface chlorophyll concentration as well as to analyse such phenomena like coastal upwelling events or spreading of inland waters into the coastal area. The remote sensing techniques are also implemented for assessing solar energy reaching the sea surface and ice cover of the Baltic Sea.

Theoretical analysis methods as well as the numerical and parametric modelling are used to study the interaction of the sea, the atmosphere and the continental hydrosphere and also hydrodynamic and ecological processes. Among the models used the following work operationally:

• M3D is the hydrodynamic model with data assimilation of physical parameters (see Figure 2). This model runs as operational, assimilating sea level data observed by the net BOOS system in the Baltic, 3D distribution of T/S observed and recorded by net of buoys as well as the SST delivered daily by DMI.
• ProDeMo (Production and Destruction of Organic Matter Model) is the ecosystem part of the M3D model that has been developed and applied to the Baltic Sea. It describes nu-trient cycles, oxygen conditions and the parameterization of water-sediment interactions.
• The wind wave modelling by the use of WAM (Wave Model) was implemented in the Institute in 2000. Figure 3 shows the WAM forecast of significant wave height for the storm in February 2011. The operational wind wave forecasting system for the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Gdańsk based on the WAM setup developed within the EU-research project HIPOCAS is under development in the Institute now. Recently, a coupled ocean circulation-wave model POM08 (Princeton Ocean Model 2008) is being implemented based on Mellor et. al. (2008).

National and international projects
In recent years the Institute of Oceanography has been involved in several national and international projects. Among those related to operational oceanography were HIPOCAS (Hindcast of Dynamic Processes of the Ocean and Coastal Areas of Europe), ECOOP (European COastal-shelf sea OPerational observing and forecasting system) and currently underway: PROZA (Operational decision-making based on atmospheric conditions) and SatBaltic (Satellite Monitoring of the Baltic Sea environment).

The task of the project PROZA implemented in IOUG is to develop a coupled wave-current model for the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Gdańsk working in operational mode. The coupled wave-current nested models together with systematic routine measurements of the sea and atmosphere parameters will compose a basis of a hydrometeorological forecasting and warning system which is being developed within PROZA.

The main aim of the SatBaltic project is to prepare and set in motion the technical infrastructure and practical operational procedures for the efficient, routine monitoring of the states of the Baltic environment. The task of IOUG is the production of maps of the sea’s structural and functional characteristics, including the temperature distributions, ice cover, and the dynamic state of the sea surface and the occurrence of upwelling.

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The activities of SYKE take place in seven centres:

• Freshwater,
• Marine Research,
• Natural Environment,
• Consumption and Production,
• Environmental Policy,
• Data and Information,
• Laboratory centres.

The Marine Research Centre has 85 experts on marine sciences, and it coordinates the Finnish Marine Research Infrastructure FINMARI. It is nationally in charge of monitoring and research of the status of the Baltic Sea. SYKE administrates the Finnish Research Vessel Aranda that is equipped with top ecological laboratories and has capacity to operate in ice conditions. SYKE participates in the EC DG MARE initiative EMODnet –Chemistry Data Service and in Copernicus Marine Service In Situ Thematic Assembly Centre: Baltic Sea Biochemistry.

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The Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde (in short: IOW) is a public research institute. Its legal status is that of a public-law foundation. The IOW´s mission is to conduct interdisciplinary marine research in coastal seas, with special emphasis on the Baltic Sea. It has four departments representing the disciplines of physical oceanography, marine chemistry, biological oceanography and marine geology. An instrumentation group is affiliated with the department of Physical Oceanography. The departments work jointly on a long-term research programme with the research foci “Small and mesoscale processes”, “Basin-scale Ecosystem Dynamics”, “Changing Ecosystems” and “Coastal Sea and Society”.

Research at the IOW focuses on observations and modelling of ecosystem changes and their underlying processes in marginal seas and shelf regions. It aims to acquire an in-depth understanding of the functions of the ecosystem with the overall objective to differentiate between natural variability and anthropogenically triggered changes.

IOW scientists seek to understand the processes that occur in the different compartments of our model ocean, the Baltic Sea. These insights are used to decipher its history. Data from a long-term observation programme allow the detection of natural fluctuations, trends and anthropogenically driven shifts. In addition, the data are used to construct “what-if ” model scenarios as future projections.

The long-term observation data from the Baltic Sea, collected and hosted at the IOW, are a valuable treasure for the entire coastal sea research community and are characteristic of the IOW’s work. In conjunction with ongoing monitoring programmes, these time series ensure high-quality data support for hydrodynamic and ecosystem models and enable the institute to analyse trends.

The IOW contributes significantly to the sound scientific knowledge that is needed in order to implement the marine strategy for the Baltic Sea, thus playing a vital role in this process. Therefore, the institute closely cooperates with ministries, agencies and authorities, at both the federal and state level. The Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) has entrusted the IOW with the Baltic Sea Monitoring Programme, to which the Federal Republic of Germany and the other countries bordering the Baltic Sea committed themselves in the Helsinki Convention. Besides, the IOW runs for the BSH three autonomous measuring stations in the western Baltic Sea (at Darss Sill, in the Arkona Basin and Odra Bight) which deliver oceanographic data from different water levels around the clock.

The nine IOW professors are simultaneously members of the universities in Rostock and Greifswald.

For sea going work, the IOW scientists have r/v Elisabeth Mann Borgese (length o.a.: 56.50 m) and r/v Maria S. Merian (length o. a.: 94.80 m) at their disposal.

In total, round about 220 employees are working with the IOW. The mean
annual basic budget amounts up to 23 Mio Euro. In addition, a mean value of 9 Mio Euro is acquired per year.

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Near-real time monitoring of the Baltic Sea is currently carried out with ferrybox systems, a bio-optical profiling buoy and using of remote sensing. EMI Remote Sensing Department is active in developing new methods and algorithms in order to improve the performance of remote sensing methods in such optically complex waters like the Baltic Sea. One of the main aims of the bio-optical profiler is also to provide data for improving remote sensing products besides monitoring biological and physical parameters of the Baltic Sea.

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